New Zealand's Football Kingz set a couple of new club records at Ericsson Stadium on December 6, as 2753 fans saw them conquer Newcastle United 2-0 to climb to an overnight fifth placing in the National Soccer League table.      Goals in each half from Paul Urlovic and Patricio Almendra were enough to fire the Kingz to a club record third consecutive victory, while by keeping a clean sheet, the virtually untroubled Michael Utting will go down in the annals as the first Kingz custodian to keep the opposition scoreless for two straight games.      The home team, minus the injured Harry Ngata, took just ten minutes to get into their stride, and crowned the match with a gorgeous goal which, to quote Radio Sport commentator Andrew Dewhurst, was "spectacular in its simplicity".      A neat lay-off from Urlovic to the outstanding Raf de Gregorio saw the midfielder clip the ball towards Andy Vlahos. The pint-sized Australian's deft back-heel gave Urlovic yards of room in which to run, and left him one-on-one with Daniel Beltrame. Newcastle's goalkeeper was beaten all ends up by a class finish from the number nine, for whom this was a second goal in three games.      Newcastle looked to respond straight away, Milan Blagojevic's corner on the quarter hour being flicked on at the near post by Adam Griffiths for the unmarked Esala Masi. But the burly Fijian, who was otherwise United's most impressive performer throughout, blazed his effort wide of the mark.      Blagojevic missed in similar fashion five minutes later, blazing wide of a gaping goal after Utting had flapped at a teasing Travis Dodd cross. Two minutes later, Blagojevic turned provider again, his corner picking out Masi, whose shot, this time, was on target. But it cannoned off the back of team-mate Peter Tsekenis to safety.      After a tidy little spell from the Kingz, the highlight of which was a twenty-five yard drive from captain Chris Jackson which sizzled past Beltrame's right-hand post, the visitors squandered another golden chance to draw level, ten minutes before half-time.      Masi's speed of thought and movement was often too quick for a Football Kingz defence, in which sweeper Hiroshi Miyazawa produced his best-ever performance in the black jersey.      The Fijian striker's swift surge caught Jonathan Perry napping on the edge of his penalty area, Masi charging to the byline before, under the defender's challenge, pulling the ball back for Blagojevic, whose clever curling effort drifted past the far post with Utting beaten.      The Kingz finished the half strongly, and could well have been at least two goals up but for a quite stunning save from Beltrame, seven minutes out from the interval. De Gregorio's flick saw the ball sit up neatly for Urlovic on the edge of the penalty area.      The goalscorer showed great presence of mind, despite being surrounded by opponents, to squeeze the ball through to Vlahos, who, in turn, presented Almendra with his first shooting chance of the match.      The talented but theatrical Chilean, whose flamboyant flourishes delight the crowds as much as his less desirable traits rile the opposition, produced a typically acrobatic volley, only to be upstaged by a quite breathtaking save from Beltrame, whose one-handed reflex save to his left was worth coming to see in itself - it was a stunning stop.      Moments later, Urlovic, Vlahos and Almendra linked up again, only for the Kingz to claim an indirect free-kick for a back-pass, Tsekenis having dived in to thwart the Chilean on this occasion, with Beltrame picking up the loose ball.      Referee Perry Mur - never one to court controversy if he can avoid it by waving play on! - remained true to form on this occasion, and followed suit two minutes before half-time, despite Vlahos having clearly been dragged down by Tsekenis near the edge of the United penalty area, after a surging run from deep which took him past four players.      Into the second spell, and just four minutes had elapsed when Dodd set off down the right on a run from near half-way which saw him thunder past three tame Kingz challenges before letting fly from well inside the home team's penalty area. Utting was relieved to see the ball slam into the side-netting.      The league's leading goalscorer, Joel Griffiths, followed his team-mate's example seconds later, cutting in from the left before curling a shot past the far post, as he looked to build on his one-goal advantage at the top of the Golden Boot table.      But it just wasn't to be his or Newcastle's night, coach Ian Crook, of Tottenham Hotspur and Norwich City fame, later indicating that, while

taking nothing away from the Kingz impressive performance, this was his team's worst display of the season, a fact emphasised by their profligate finishing. Not that the Kingz can avoid being found guilty of committing the same crime - they could have had a hatful of goals in the second half, but squandered several gilt-edged openings either side of the strike which made sure of the points. Urlovic teamed up with the full-of-running Mark Atkinson in the 56th minute, the latter whipping in a measured cross which Vlahos, at full stretch, headed over the bar from eight yards with just Beltrame to beat. Worse was to come from the Australian two minutes later, a deft touch from Urlovic sending him hurtling clear, Beltrame the lone barrier between Vlahos and a goal celebration. "Urlo" will be demonstrating the art of one-on-one finishing to his team-mate in training this week, after Vlahos shot straight at the barrier! Not that the All White striker can consider himself the finished article. Just seconds later, Urlovic gathered the ball on the left and deceived three opponents on his way into his shooting position deep in Newcastle's penalty area. With Beltrame et al converging, the required precise finish bowed to the power-laden version, and the ball cleared the crossbar by an ever-increasing margin as a result. After Mark Burton's stinging twenty-five yard volley had been saved by Beltrame, the goalkeeper's excellent distribution sparked a counter-attack which culminated in the ball hitting the back of the net. Unfortunately for United and, in particular, Joel Griffiths, the offside flag was up well before he found the net in the 62nd minute, a signal which highlighted the fine line which exists between active and passive offside. It was a scare which spurred the Kingz on in search of a second, match-clinching goal, and they had just four minutes to wait before scoring it. Prior to doing so, however, Burton, Jackson and Vlahos combined to set up an Almendra shot on the turn some eighteen yards out from goal. Beltrame was right behind it, and wasn't even troubled seconds later as Burton let fly with a golf shot on his fiftieth NSL appearance for the club, after Urlovic and de Gregorio had combined with Atkinson, whose cross was made to measure for the incoming Burton to hit first-time on the run. There was more than a touch of irony about the Kingz 66th minute match-winner, in that its architect was a member of the opposition well versed in the art of winning games at Ericsson Stadium himself. All Whites captain, Chris Zorocich, under pressure from Jackson, played a back-pass straight to the feet of Urlovic, who wasted little time in fully capitalising on the blunder. A made-to-measure cross for Almendra invited the Chilean to add yet more vibrancy to the drummers in the crowd, who celebrated their countryman's emphatic finish with a rhythmic flourish of their own! The second goal all but killed off the game as a contest, despite the best efforts of Masi, in particular, to lift his team-mates out of their depression. The final ten minutes saw both teams looking to add to their tallies, with Atkinson's penetrating pass prising open Newcastle's rearguard in the 81st minute. It left Urlovic and Almendra, the game's goalscorers, in with a great chance to notch a third goal, one which, between them, they squandered in inglorious fashion. After an opportunist effort from Joel Griffiths cleared the Kingz crossbar by not a lot seconds later, Urlovic spurned another good chance, heading tamely into Beltrame's hands following a Vlahos cross. Soon after, Scott Baillie headed over following the combined efforts of Stephen Eagleton and substitute Scott Thomas, but that was as good as it got for Newcastle, who, in failing to force a single save of consequence from Utting, ensured that their record of never having won on the eastern side of the Tasman Sea would remain intact for another season. Kingz:          Utting; Perry (booked, 43), Miyazawa (booked, 90), Taylor; Atkinson, Jackson (booked, 37), de Gregorio, Burton (Beldham, 86); Almendra, Urlovic, Vlahos Newcastle:     Beltrame; Prentice (Bingley, 59), Zorocich (Thomas, 77), Tsekenis, Baillie (booked, 37); Dodd (R. Griffiths, 59), Blagojevic, A. Griffiths, Eagleton; Masi, J. Griffiths Referee:     Perry Mur